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Updated: May 24, 2026
Cultivation of Mammalian Cells Using a Single-use Pneumatic Bioreactor System
Published on: October 10, 2014
Death rate in a small air-lift loop reactor of vero cells grown on solid microcarriers and in macroporous
D E Martens1, E A Nollen, M Hardeveld
1Department of Food Science, Food and Bioengeneering Group, Agricultural University, Bomenweg 2, 6703 HD, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The death rate of Vero cells grown on Cytodex-3 microcarrierswas studied as a function of the gas flow rate in a smallair-lift loop reactor. The death rate may be described byfirst-order death-rate kinetics. The first-order death-rateconstant as calculated from the decrease in viable cells, theincrease in dead cells and the increase in LDH activity islinear proportional to the gas flow rate, with a specifichypothetical killing volume in which all cells are killed ofabout 2.10(-3)m(3) liquid per m(3) of air bubbles.In addition, an experiment was conducted in the sameair-lift reactor with Vero cells grown inside porous Asahimicrocarriers. The specific hypothetical killing volumecalculated from this experiment has a value of 3.10(-4)m(3) liquid per m(3) of air bubbles, which shows thatthe porous microcarriers were at least in part able to protectthe cells against the detrimental hydrodynamic forcesgenerated by the bubbles.
